Norwegian energy company Equinor has completed acquisition of 25% interest in Roncador oil field located in the Campos Basin in Brazil, from Petróleo Brasileiro Petrobras (Petrobras).
Image: The P-54 FPSO on the Roncador Field. Photo: courtesy of Geraldo Falcão/Equinor ASA.
As per the deal signed in December 2017, Equinor agreed to acquire the stake in the Roncador field, which is said to be third largest producing field in Brazil, from Petrobras for $2.9bn. The deal was subject to conditions including government and regulatory approvals.
Under the deal, Equinor has now paid an adjusted cash consideration of $2bn to Petrobras and will make contingent payments of up to $550m related to investments in projects to increase the recovery factor of this field.
Equinor Brazil country manager Anders Opedal said: “We look forward to working with Petrobras to maximize the upside potential from the Roncador field.
“The collaboration between the two companies will enable us to extend the productive life of the field, which will result in enhanced ripple effects for local communities and the supplier industry.
“This will also result in increased value and cash flows for the benefit of Brazil and the companies involved.”
Equinor said that the acquisition of stake in Roncador field boosts its equity production in Brazil by around 150% to around 100,000 boe per day from around 40,000 boe per day.
Petrobras, however, retains operatorship of the Roncador field with 75% interest.
In order to maximise value creation from and the longevity of the Roncador field, Equinor plans to leverage its increased oil recovery technology, and experience from the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), while Petrobras will leverage its experience as the deepwater operator and pre-salt developer, Equinor noted.
The partners are planning to increase Roncador’s recovery factor by 5% points thus increasing the total remaining recoverable volumes from 1 billion boe to more than 1.5 billion boe.
Equinor said that the acquisition is part of its strategic partnership with the Brazilian firm to expand technical collaboration.